The Harvest Mouse Exits the Fairytale Together with Cinderella

"Why."

Why did he start to doubt?

He had imitated his nephew’s appearance while blending in his younger brother’s habits and speech patterns, behaving naturally all the while.

He had carefully revealed stories that only his nephew could have known, gauging the reactions and choosing his words with caution.

It was all to stir up the guilt of failing to protect his brother’s family while he was away at war.

And guilt—guilt was an excellent tool for erasing suspicion.

But then...

"Ah."

Eisen laughed, as if he had finally realized why the other was hesitating.

In that smile, he saw fury—fury that had long since reached its peak and cooled into something far more dangerous.

"The High Priest’s successor even fixed my head for me. Thanks to that, I can see your face clearly now."

"......!"

"Sixteen years of demonic corruption, was it?"

Eisen let out a dry chuckle and added,

"Something must have happened. Your face is quite damaged."

"......"

"Your features have become rather... unrestrained. Almost as if you were an entirely different person."

"......"

"Cassian, what are you waiting for? Your uncle is right here, waiting for you."

With trembling hands, Max picked up the confession potion. But in the end, his grip failed him, and the vial slipped from his fingers.

He could only stare at the shattered glass, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

"I—I apologize. My hands slipped... Even if it's supposed to be safe, drinking a confession potion still makes one nervous..."

This was his last resort.

The High Priest—wasn’t he a figure above even a duke?

A representative of the gods, equal in standing to the Emperor himself.

No matter how much of an outlier Valkyrisen was, the successor to the High Priesthood should be akin to the Crown Prince.

He couldn’t possibly be used so freely for personal matters.

There was no way there were two vials of this precious potion, especially if it had been made personally by him.

That was the desperate hope Max had clung to.

'Buy time. If things go south, I'll have to escape in the meantime—'

At that moment, Elodie, who had been quietly observing the broken potion, shrugged and casually asked Eisen,

"Should I make another one right now?"

"Please do."

...What?

Cassian forgot to keep up his act, left staring blankly in sheer disbelief.

That—that beastfolk was the High Priest’s successor?

It had to be a lie.

They had to be mocking him.

"It’ll take five minutes."

Elodie disappeared somewhere for exactly five minutes. And when she returned, she held a potion identical to the one he had broken.

"Ah..."

Max felt his mind go blank, his vision blurring as he squeezed his eyes shut.

***

"So, was that really a confession potion?"

"No."

How could the High Priest, the master of the Temple of Healing, create something so vile—something meant for interrogating criminals?

‘It was just a confidence booster.’

A potion that made you feel as if your nerves had vanished and you could accomplish anything. It instilled a vague sense of confidence.

However, it also had a side effect—making people overly honest or too relaxed, sometimes to the point of ruining their own plans.

["You’d be better off not drinking it. It turns you into a trollish fool."]

Elodie recalled the fire spirit clicking its tongue, calling it garbage.

‘It does have a confession effect.’

About... a 30% chance?

By making someone believe they had already succeeded, it coaxed them into letting things slip.

If the person was particularly cautious, skeptical, or naturally wary, it wouldn’t work as well.

‘That’s why I called it a confession potion.’

Placebo effects were a powerful thing.

By making them believe it was a confession potion, the chances of it working increased.

She just hadn’t expected him not to drink it at all.

Elodie thought back to Max, the fraud who had dared to impersonate the nephew of Duke Valkyrisen.

The Silver Order knights and a considerable number of beastfolk had dragged him off to the underground prison, muttering that they had expected this outcome.

‘Eagles was absolutely livid...’

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Considering that Eisen was both his master and the benefactor who had given him a new life, Eagles couldn’t possibly let such an insult slide.

She could already imagine what was going to happen to Max.

And since she could, she had no desire to look.

"I brought Grandpa’s medicine."

Elodie declared proudly, dumping a pile of potion bottles from her bag.

Eisen, for once, looked slightly overwhelmed.

"Are you trying to kill me with an overdose?"

How offensive.

‘I’m trying to keep you alive, actually!’

In five years, Duke Valkyrisen would die.

She had suspicions about what might cause it, but she had yet to determine the exact reason.

So what else could she do?

‘I’ll just make sure he can survive anything.’

This had been her plan all along.

She had already consulted with Inferno at length and carefully selected the potions. They wouldn’t cause any overdoses—Eisen was worrying for nothing.

"Don’t you trust me? You should listen to your doctor."

"Haa..."

Eisen, having already undergone one treatment from her, seemed to have given up resisting. Without further complaint, he downed all the potions in front of him.

"I feel full now."

"Want a candy?"

"Give me one."

"Here."

Elodie handed him a half-melted strawberry candy that she had been keeping in her pocket.

Eisen immediately frowned.

"Don’t you have cinnamon?"

"Eugh, I don’t eat that kind of thing."

"Kids these days..."

What nonsense.

Strawberry was the world’s most universally loved flavor, and now he was calling her a child for liking it?

Despite his complaints, Eisen still tossed the sticky, half-melted candy into his mouth.

If he was going to eat it anyway, he could’ve just taken it without the whining.

"Are you planning to continue playing doctor?"

"Yep."

Elodie braced herself, expecting a scolding—something about whether she had her parents’ permission.

But Eisen said something unexpected.

"Then go check on Edmund."

...Edmund?

"He was always a bit frail, but he’s been looking worse lately."

Frail?

Was he seriously calling Edmund frail?

That was the same Edmund who was so well-built and sturdy that, despite his youthful face, his sheer size made him look like a full-grown adult.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

‘Does Eisen actually see him as weak?’

Elodie felt oddly reluctant, but she still nodded.

She had no reason to refuse.

"He never shows when he’s struggling, so I never really noticed before. But after you treated me, I started looking at people’s faces more closely. That’s when I realized."

Huh.

Elodie made a mental note to check on him soon.

Then she hesitated before bringing up another topic.

"You know, Grandpa."

"What now."

"Your illness... it was cured instantly, wasn’t it?"

And do you know what that means?

Elodie smirked slyly.

Inferno had once told her something important.

Even with physical injuries, healing someone’s head required the patient’s own will to recover.

"Grandpa, deep down, you wanted to recognize Zenovia."

She had singled out Zenovia, but in truth, it applied to all of his grandchildren.

For someone like Eisen, who saw faces as little more than blurred figures, distinguishing between people must have been incredibly difficult.

Especially with how similar Edmund and Zenovia looked—Elodie had even confused them once when she was half-asleep.

Karon, on the other hand, had a more delicate, refined look compared to his two brothers, but still shared the same black hair.

"You were trying to remember all three of them."

"......."

"Over and over again."

Despite burdening himself with guilt, despite trying to atone for the past—deep inside, he had still felt conflicted about not even being able to recognize his own family.

It was a cycle of pain.

A curse where no one could ever find happiness.

Eisen was not a saint.

And yet, he had forced himself to walk a path of suffering, as if he were one.

How could anyone remain sane that way?

"Grandpa, it’s time for you to be happy."

Since he had crossed paths with Elodie, he had no choice but to live for himself—shamelessly, selfishly, even.

That was what she called filial piety.